Video
"The Poor Man of Nippur" is a c. 3,000-year-old comic folk tale in Babylonian language. The main manuscript is a clay tablet from 701 BC found at the site of Sultantepe, in South-East Turkey. Recounted by a third-party narrator, it tells the story of the three-fold revenge which Gimil-Ninurta wreaks on the local Mayor after the latter wrongs him.
The film version of this ancient text is a creation of Cambridge Assyriology, and (as far as we know) the world's first film in Babylonian.
The film was acted by Assyriology students and other members of the Cambridge Mesopotamian community. Shooting locations were in several Cambridge Colleges, King's Parade, The British Museum, Flag Fen Archaeological Park, and countryside near Grantchester.
The project was funded by The Philological Society, The Thriplow Charitable Trust, The Judith Wilson Fund, The CHW Johns Fund for Assyriology, St John's College, Trinity College, The Henry Sweet Society for the History of Linguistic Ideas, and The London Centre for the Ancient Near East.
Related Content
Poor Man of Nippur
Historical Accuracy in the Film Agora
The Mesopotamian Pantheon
Enki's Journey to Nippur
Ashurbanipal's Collection of Sumerian and Babylonian Proverbs
Babylonian Clay Map from Nippur
Cite This Work
APA Style
Archaeology, C. (2023, January 17). The Poor Man of Nippur - World's first film in Babylonian. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/video/2891/the-poor-man-of-nippur---worlds-first-film-in-baby/
Chicago Style
Archaeology, Cambridge. "The Poor Man of Nippur - World's first film in Babylonian." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified January 17, 2023. https://www.worldhistory.org/video/2891/the-poor-man-of-nippur---worlds-first-film-in-baby/.
MLA Style
Archaeology, Cambridge. "The Poor Man of Nippur - World's first film in Babylonian." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 17 Jan 2023. Web. 23 Nov 2024.
